Elijah Lewis

Case background and investigation

Elijah Lewis was a five-year-old boy who lived in Merrimack, New Hampshire, with his mother, Danielle Dauphinais, and her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf. According to Boston.com, he was born in Arizona in 2016 and came to live with his mother in New Hampshire in 2020.

On October 14, 2021, the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families reported Elijah missing, NHPR and Boston.com reported. Authorities said at the time that he had last been seen at his Merrimack home within the previous 30 days. Boston.com later reported that the agency had opened an investigation that month after a newborn in the household was found to have drugs in the baby's system.

Dauphinais and Stapf were arrested in New York City a few days later; NBC Boston gives the date as October 17, 2021, and Boston.com as October 18 in the Bronx. They were initially charged with witness tampering and child endangerment, with prosecutors alleging they had asked others to lie about the boy's whereabouts. On October 23, 2021, a cadaver dog located remains buried in a wooded area near Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts. An autopsy the next day confirmed the remains were Elijah's.

In November 2021, officials announced that the death was a homicide caused by violence and neglect, with findings that included facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment and pressure ulcers, according to NBC Boston. Boston.com reported that he weighed 19 pounds when he was found.

Dauphinais was indicted in April 2022 on one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder and three counts of witness tampering, and initially pleaded not guilty. On September 29, 2022, Stapf pleaded guilty to manslaughter, second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering, and was sentenced to a total of 22 to 45 years in prison, NBC Boston reported.

In September 2024, Dauphinais pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of witness tampering. On October 25, 2024, in Hillsborough County Superior Court South in Nashua, she was sentenced to 50 years to life for the murder and a consecutive three and a half to seven years for witness tampering, making her eligible for parole after at least 53 and a half years, according to InDepthNH. The sentencing judge described the abuse Elijah suffered as prolonged torture, the outlet reported.